Weekly E-mail Update 6-5-17

Weekly E-mail Update 6-5-17

"Impeachment is not a remedy for private wrongs; it's a method of removing someone whose continued presence in office would cause grave danger to the nation."

Charles Ruff

Happy June! As we look forward into the Summer we at WeCAN wanted to remind you to keep up those calls, petitions, emails, and postcards to our representatives both at the local and state level: call to encourage impeachment proceedings, call to encourage a livable minimum wage, call to encourage fair treatment of unions, call to demand that we as humans have rights to both a habitable environment and reasonable health care.

Day of Action to Support the Budget and Communities - Putney RallySAY NO TO THE VETO! Wednesday, June 7th, 2017 in front of the Tavern Common (Main Street, Putney, VT). 4pm-5pm.Time to stand up for our teacher's collective bargaining rights and to protect our unions! The Putney Huddle and The Action Pod have coordinated with VT NEA, working in coalition with fellow labor unions, environmental groups, progressive business groups, and several others to push back on Gov. Scott’s planned veto of the budget and the education funding bill. We will stand with our signs along the Main Street of Putney in front of the Tavern Common to show our support of teachers and unions!Demonstrations will also be happening that evening throughout the state in 26 other towns including Brattleboro and Bellows Falls. Info for all included in the following link or you can contact Laura at ThePutneyHuddle@Gmail.Com. Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1782467168730047/?active_tab=about

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Day of Action to Support the Budget and Communities - Brattleboro RallyWednesday, June 7th, 2017 at Pliny Park (corner of Main and High Streets in Downtown Brattleboro, VT). 4:30pm-5:30pm.

Community members from across Vermont will come together on Wednesday June 7th to tell Gov. Phil Scott to stop holding the budget –- and Vermont –- hostage. The state budget invests in creating more affordable housing, increasing access to childcare, maintaining the Vermont state colleges, protecting clean water, and giving more resources to mental health workers on the front lines of the opiate crisis. This budget supports Vermonters and our communities. Gov. Scott is choosing to play politics with education, affordable housing, child care, and our waterways while pitting Vermonter against Vermonter. He also has taken steps to undermine the collective bargaining rights of teachers, starting with healthcare.There will also be gatherings in Putney & Bellows Falls.

"So, you went to the Climate March. Now what?”Wednesday, June 7th, 2017 at the Brattleboro Food Co-op Community Room (2 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 6pm to 8pm.

A Conversation about Climate Action, Campaigns and Community.Get together with 350 Brattleboro and your fellow marchers to find out about how to get involved with climate action campaigns and build a stronger community. Whether you marched in D.C., rallied in Montpelier, or wanted to march but weren't able to you're welcome to join us and build the better world we know is possible.

Vigil at TD Bank in Montpelier with The Upper Valley Affinity Groupsponsored by the Upper Valley Affinity GroupThursday, June 8th, 2017 at the Corner of State and Main Streets in Montpelier, VT. 11:30am-1:00pm. Continues on the Second Thursday of Each Month Through the Summer and Fall.To ride share from Exit 5 contact Tim at 802.869.2141 or bereal@vermontel,net. Departs at 10am. Come and stay as long as you can to peacefully protest TDBank’s huge investments in climate and water destroying pipeline infrastructure.Urge the State of Vermont and other depositors to close their TDBank accounts.Support moving swiftly to 100% renewable energy and a state bank for Vermont.We will be bearing witness and distributing fact sheets about TD's extensive financial support for pipelines.Bring a sign, bring your friends, bring your neighbors, bring your lunch or just come and join us by yourself.For more information contact Duncan Nichols 802 281 2692 or email duncandnichols@gmail.com.

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Brattleboro Area Community Action Meetingsponsored by Rights and DemocracyThursday, June 8th, 2017 in the Community Room at the Brattleboro Food Co-op (2 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301). 6:30pm.Please use the entrance at 7 Canal Street to access the Community Room.Help create plans for our “Democracy Summer”series of town hall meetings across the state to keep folks engaged and propel our movement forward. *Please note that this represents a change from the previously announced time slot on Thursday, May 25th in order to avoid a conflict with the COMMUNITY IN ACTION event being hosted by SEVCA at the Eagles Lodge on Putney Rd that day from 5-8pm. RAD will be staffing a table at this event, and we hope folks can make it.

Bellows FallsFriday, June 9 (and every Friday) in front of the TD Bank Bellows Falls (2 Church St, Bellows Falls, VT 05101). 1pm-2pm. Please bring your own signs.TD is a major investor in Tar Sands. TD helps to fund the Dakota Access Pipeline. The State of Vermont Keeps Most of Our Cash in TD.What You Can You Do (besides attending the vigils):If you’re a TD depositor, change banks!If you’re a Vermonter, demand that state funds not be deposited with a bank investing in fossil fuels.Contact your state legislators to support the bills in the House & Senate calling for a commission to explore the possibility of a State Bank. Founded in 2005, Post Oil Solutions is a 501c3 community organizing project in Southeastern Vermont whose mission is to help empower the people of the Central Connecticut River Valley bioregion to develop sustainable, resilient , collaborative, and socially just communities leading to a self- and community-sufficient post petroleum society. For more information please contact info@postoilsolutions.org or 802.869.2141

Come on out to support The Root Social Justice Center on Tuesday June 13th from 5-8pm at Elliot Street Fish, Chips & More!Eat in or take out! 50% of sales go to The Root!Funds raised from the evening will go to support The Root Social Justice Center, a local community organization that provides a physically and financially accessible space in Southern VT for social justice groups to meet AND is a hub for racial justice organizing. The Root prioritizes People Of Color leadership and shifting resources to People of Color-led racial justice work. For more information, check out: www.therootsjc.orgAnd a thank you to our friends at Lost River Racial Justice's Fundraising Working Group for supporting this event.

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Small Steps To Save The Planet, Recycling The RainFriday, June 16th, 2017 at the Congregational Church of Westminster West (44 Church St., Westminster VT, 05346). 5pm-6:30pm.On June 16th Jan Lambert will present a free program on how we manage the rain falling on human-altered landscapes: farms, forests, and developed areas. She has developed a course of study beginning with the presentation June 16th, to be followed by more in-depth monthly workshops every third Friday. This will be an interactive course for community movers and shakers who want to spread the word and the practices!

The first program is free and will include a chance for you to purchase the required text if needed, and also to give her feedback on what you would like to learn more about in depth. These additional courses will stand alone, so you can pick and choose, once you have received the basics through the intro program. The topic of such future programs will be made available to you after the first program, but the first ones will likely be on Michal Kravcik ’s check dam projects, rain gardens, and the like so you can take advantage of the information during the summer. Later, towards the cold season we can get more into the history, science, and philosophy behind the New Water Paradigm. She is asking for a $10 donation for sessions after June 16th. For more info on this course, contact Jan Lambert: jan@valleygreenjournal.com

The Living Earth Action Group meets every Friday 5-6pm at the Congregational Church of Westminster West. To receive email notices and newsletters for Living Earth Action Group, contact caitlin@sanctuaryvermont.com

Now more than ever, there is an immense need to stop and listen to one another, to recognize our shared humanity, and to seek cooperative solutions to our collective challenges, especially climate change.Council is an ancient practice that brings people together into a talking circle for candid and heartfelt conversation. Each person has a voice, speaks from the heart, and all the others listen. Council draws on the life experience and wisdom of all participants to generate new understandings of the problem and new possibilities for solutions. It fosters attentive listening and authentic expression, supporting a deep sense of community and recognition of our interconnectedness as it does so.By using the Council to consider the full scope of the climate crisis, participants slow down and listen well, to both themselves and others. . Sitting in a circle with heart communication creates connection and acceptance; a more collective consciousness gradually develops. Fears, anger, guilt, despair and other feelings may be experienced, perhaps transformed; new levels of awareness, possibility, and agency may emerge.

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Summer Local Love Brigade Gatherings

Save the Dates: Thursday, July 6th at the Brooks Memorial Library & Sunday, August 13th, at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center

In the meantime, we'll keep sending out postcards to folks that need it. Here are the addresses from past week's incidents. Let's keep the love flowing.(If you missed the great article in the Commons about the impact the Love Brigade is having, you can check it out here.)

Vigil at TD Bank in Montpeliersponsored by the Upper Valley Affinity GroupThe Second Thursday of Each Month Through the Summer and Fall. At the Corner of State and Main Streets in Montpelier, VT. 11:30am-1pm.

Ride share from Exit 5 off I91N. Departs at 10am. Contact Tim at 802.869.2141 or bereal@vermontel,net.Come and stay as long as you can to peacefully protest TDBank’s huge investments in climate and water destroying pipeline infrastructure.Urge the State of Vermont and other depositors to close their TDBank accounts.Support moving swiftly to 100% renewable energy and a state bank for Vermont.We will be bearing witness and distributing fact sheets about TD's extensive financial support for pipelines.Bring a sign, bring your friends, bring your neighbors, bring your lunch or just come and join us by yourself.For more information contact Duncan Nichols at 802.281.2692 or duncandnichols@gmail.com.

The Family Solidarity Action Network is moving forward with their next big effort to support families in local activism: a collective of folks to provide childcare for local activist meetings or events. If you or someone you know would be able and willing to offer childcare (as a volunteer, or paid) for meetings and events please fill out this spreadsheet:

We are looking for people young and old with varying degrees of experience. Having a large pool of people to call on will make it much easier for organizers to arrange childcare for meetings, allowing for more voices of families with young children to participate in local activism! We will then be making this list available to other local organizations so we can be sure that childcare doesn't have to be a barrier to participation for anyone.

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VOLUNTEER AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT OPPORTUNITIES

Sister District

SisterDisrict is an organization that connects you with your local home district team to work on Sister Races in Virginia, Washington State, and Georgia. The goal? To turn Red states Blue. Support these critical races by donating to them and sharing about them on social media. Or, get in on the fun by joining your local district team for even more action items!

Here is an update from the Vermont district team:

SisterDistrict Soup

We have made a few changes to our SisterDistrict Soup project and will be offering a monthly soup subscription to benefit either SisterDistrict directly or our current candidate (subscriber's choice).

In addition to raising money to help get our nation onto a better trajectory, we are also committed to providing you the most delicious and locally-sourced soup that we can. Vegetarian, gluten- and dairy-free options will be available. There is no reason that you can't eat well and resist at the same time!

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Thank you, as always, for showing up for your fellow humans and for the planet every week. We appreciate you more than you know.